


A Visit

by halloweennut



Series: Hireath [2]
Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Adoption, Found Family, dad angst au, we get that good good closure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23314726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halloweennut/pseuds/halloweennut
Summary: where Maricruz and Rosita visit their mother and Esteban asks them an important question
Series: Hireath [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675873
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	A Visit

The carriage ride from the castle to Mari and Rosie’s home village took only a few hours, riding north to the hilly plains of Teopoxlan. Esteban could only watch as the girls’ eyes lit up when they began to recognize certain areas as they began to enter the outskirts of town with a smile. Mari would happily point out certain tracks of fields and who they belonged to, where the best clay pits were, and the best orchards to get mangoes and oranges from. Rosie would chime in with some story about each, about how their mother would bring them to get clay for her pots, and the time she nearly fell out of a tree trying to get a few mangoes. 

Eventually, they made it into town properly. 

“Welcome home, girls!” Elena said, barely taking a second to open the door before the girls ran out in excitement. “Hold on you two!”

“Mari, Rosie, wait for us!” Esteban called. The girls hadn’t gotten far and stopped only a few yards from the carriage. 

“Sorry! We’re just so excited to be here!” Rosie said as Mateo, Elena and Esteban approached. 

“It’s been so long,” Mari added. “So much has stayed the same…but changed.”

“That house is new, that shop is new,” Rose listed, pointing them out. “And look! They redid the church!”

“It has been a long time,” Esteban said. “Everything stays, but it changes.”

“I remember when I was released from the Amulet,” Elena replied. “Everything seemed so different but all the same at the same time, just how I remembered.” 

“Why don’t you two show us around a little?” Mateo asked. “I’ve never been here before.”

“That’s a great idea! Then you two can get reacquainted with Teopaxlan again!” Elena added. 

“Then can we-” Mari began to ask. Esteban nodded. 

“Yes, of course,” he answered. “It is what we came for. Well, let’s get this tour going, shall we?”

The girls nodded, quickly grabbing their hands to pull the three through the village, ducking into shops they knew and ones they didn’t, pointing to the old houses of people they used to know, and proudly showing of the marketplace that had grown in their absence. They paused for a moment, however, at a small corner of the market, underneath an archway of reclaimed maruvian bricks. 

“Is everything alright?” Esteban asked, kneeling down between them and placing a hand on their shoulders

“This is where mama sold her pottery,” Mari answered. “We’d come to market every week with her. Mama sold comals, bowls and little figurines. Rosie and I would help or play nearby…”

Rosie pulled away, heading to one of the sides of the arch. Brushing some dirt from some of the stones, she revealed a small little etching of three figures. “I scratched this one market day. It’s the three of us.”

There was a pregnant pause before Mari looked at Esteban with eyes somewhat watery. “Can we go visit her now?”

“Of course,” he nodded, pulling her into a quick side-hug. “Rosie, we’re going.”

A few minutes later, and a quick stop at a flower stall, the five made their way to the old graveyard. They didn’t have to travel far into it before Rosie stopped, blinking twice. “Mama’s over there.” 

She gently tugged Mari’s free hand over a few rows before coming to stop at a small headstone. It was nondescript and plain, overgrown with weeds and the name slightly worn away from time. But they could still read the name ‘Charo ———-’ engraved into the stone. 

“Hola mama,” Mari said softly as she kneeled down. She placed the marigolds and lilies they had brought to the side and began clearing the headstone of debris. Rosie kneeled and joined her, pulling away the weeds. “I’m sorry it took us so long to come back.”

“We wanted to come back,” Rosie added. “It just took longer than we thought. But we’re here now! And we brought you pretty flowers!”

“Esteban said we’re going to come back on Dia de Los Muertos to make your ofrenda,” Mari continued. “He’s been taking care of us.”

“He helped us escape, and he brought us here,” Rosie chirped as she pulled the last of the weeds away. “You’d like him!”

“We miss you,” Mari finished and began to arrange the flowers on the headstone. “We never forgot you, and won’t forget. I promise.”

“I promise too!”

The two girls sat in front of the headstone, quiet as they finished placing the flowers, as the other three hung back, letting them have their moment. Elena gently nudged Esteban forward. “Go introduce yourself.”

Smoothing his coat, Esteban walked over to them, kneeling silently and placed a few marigolds with the girls. “I thought I should come and introduce myself. I’m Esteban Flores, senora. I’ve been keeping an eye on these two for a few months now. You raised Maricruz and Rosita well, and I can only hope to hold a candle to you with my care.”

“I think you’re doing pretty well if it’s any consolation,” Mari said, gently leaning against his arm. Esteban lightly chuckled, stroking her hair. 

“Thank you,” he laughed. They fell silent again, looking at the headstone before he continued. “There’s another reason I wanted to bring you both here.”

“Why’s that?” Rosie asked. The two girls turned to face him, and he leaned back on his heels, taking their hands.

“I know I have made mistakes, and will probably keep making them, hopefully in a less detrimental extent,” Esteban said. “But I think one of the best choices I’ve made was welcoming you two into my life. I want to make sure you two are taken care of and are safe, and I want to be the one to make sure of that permanently.

“I want to adopt you two,” he continued. “And I thought that asking you both here with your mother present would best. You don’t have to say yes, or no. You two can take as long as you want. Nonetheless, can I adopt you both?”

Mari and Rosie stared at him wide-eyed, almost surprised, almost in disbelief. Esteban began to worry, but that train of thought was thrown off the tracks when Rosie tackled him to the ground in a hug. He yelped slightly on impact. 

“Yes!” she cheered. Esteban sat up with a grin, holding Rosie with one arm as he looked over at Mari. She was smiling wide as she nodded in agreement, joining her sister in the hug. Esteban laughed in relief, holding the two close. “Do we call you papa now?”

“You can call me whatever you wish,” he replied. “Dad, papa, papi, Esteban - whatever you like, and take however long you want to decide. Come, Elena has the paperwork for us to sign to make it official.”

The three stood, wiping off their clothing and saying last goodbyes to the girls’ mother, with a soft but ardent promise that he would take the best care of Mari and Rosie, before making their way back to Elena and Mateo. Wiping away a few happy tears, Elena pulled the adoption papers and a pen from her bag. Mateo turned, and she placed it on his shoulders, quickly signing her name before handing the pen to Esteban. With a smile to his new daughters, he signed his name, and Mari and Rosie officially joined the Flores family forever.


End file.
